The project that was hatched on this blog and evolved on this blog is now available in book form: it is big and beautiful. Designed by Jennifer Pyle and copywriting by Jimbo Embry, it is titled ECHOLILIA / Sometimes I wonder.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Q: Sometimes. That shot you did in the dirty garage was a good one. That had the wow factor. The other one you did on the pinball machine...that was just boring, don't you think?A: Yeah...I guess you're right. The baby was intense but I didn't know what to do with it, so I kind of made some rash decisions there. Gotta try, ya know?

Q: Yes, but you don't need to show us everything...keep some stuff to yourself...

A: I hear ya, I'll try. A friend thought people were wired to be fascinated with babies in the same way guys are wired to stare at hot girls...its like instinct. I thought he was right, so I'm trying to tap into some of that instinct here. I want people to be driven to look at my photographs! And shooting these kids is like hunting...you just get what you get. I can't really tell them to lay down their defenses, open up to me, do some method acting with me...its just like you grab what you can. The alpha battles of the photo shoot are gone. And that...can really be exciting.

Q: So what is next? Kittens?A: Oh, that would be great.

Babes In The Woods : Outtakes From The Infant Cognition And Language Lab, UC Berkeley

Thursday, May 13, 2010

So what is going on?mGetting ready to push the button on the Echolilia book on Friday ( today) as a week's end goal, going over details and little things and just kind of ready to be done...its all reduced now to little adjustments and dotting i's and really its just work now. Designer Jennifer Pyle in NYC did the design of the book's type pages and really got in touch with the chilly tone of the project in a way that is smart and just right on. Just going to hold off sharing until we have something solid.mMy youngest son Wilson did this the other day and I loved the color. Has nothing to do with photography at all. Just enjoy it for what it is...

Happy to be included in the PDN Photo Annual. But....lets see...they credited the wrong magazine. And they credited the wrong photo editor. And the photo editor they did credit, who was named in another submission, they spelled her name wrong. But all that said, I do like the image they chose to run from the series. And I love the work of Richard Barnes as well.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I was surprised I didn't know about this already. Sunday the SF Chronicle had a story written by Sam Whiting telling the tale of Andy Pilara. It starts like this:

In the small world of photography collecting, investment banker Andy Pilara was a complete unknown until the day he walked into San Francisco's Fraenkel Gallery and walked back out with the first picture he had ever bought, a Diane Arbus.Seven years later, Pilara, 68, has built a collection of 20th century American documentary photography so vast and comprehensive that he had to rent a vacant warehouse on the Embarcadero just to display it.

A quick search revealed that Whitney Johnson at The New Yorker had blogged about it back in March. Where was I? A visit to the Pier 24 website states their intentions so eloquently I had to catch my breath:

Pier 24 has been designed to provide an environment that is open to the public in which photographic ideas, dialogue, and critical thought can be cultivated and shared with the community. Individuals, photographers, educators, collectors, and curators will be invited to explore a venue that is devoted primarily to photography of the 20th and 21st century. Our aspiration is to provide the opportunity to experience, study, and quietly contemplate the permanent photographic collection of the Pilara Foundation.

This gesture and statement seemed so generous, enlightened and so very San Francisco: a guy discovers the power of photography, has the means to collect it, and wants to share it with the world. There is nothing more to say.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Just got Discover Magazine in the mail yesterday and was psyched by the curious experience of seeing still life shots by myself and my friend Thomas Broening stuffed into the issue. Different stories. Mine above, his below.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Geyser #1, 2010Pal Suzy Poling's exhibition Alchemical Feedback : Geysers & Ellipses opens on Saturday at DNJ Gallery in Los Angeles. I've seen the prints and they are otherworldly in just the best way...documents and creations that create a complex dialogue together. It's ambitious stuff and still totally delivers.mWhat's it all mean? Here's the statement:

Alchemical Feedback is an exhibition of two different bodies of photographic works that compare and share the relationships of chemical reactions, spontaneity and permanence. One of the series of photographs is taken of geysers from Yellowstone National Park, where Earth's feedback is presented in one of its finest forms. The geysers are a magma phenomenon, which is made up of strange colors, bacteria mat and mysterious boiling pots of water and acid. Poling contrasts the Geyser images with a project of experiments made with chemistry, oils, and decay and burned photographic film. This series called Ellipses is equally accidental and unexpected as the mysterious Geysers. These images contrast the human-made versus what is made by the Universe, as it describes what is found and what is made up. There is an arc between these two works as it bridges the need to comprehend our relationship with Astronomy exploration images and also how surreal the Earth can look. The work suggests a human's need to understand nature's unknowns as both projects embrace spontaneity and regeneration.Opening Reception: Saturday, May 8, 6pm to 8pmDNJ Gallery 154½ N. La Brea Avenue Los Angeles, CASee more HERE.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

How do you shoot The Epic Baby photograph?The one where it looks like you are photographing life itself?

You don't need alot of space. You need someone to shake the stuffed animal. You need your light. And you really really need the 100mm Canon macro lens. It gets in close, you see every subtlety....and it makes it seem like the baby is delivering the word from on high.